CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

.

Handel: Messiah

Search: Recitativo: Unto which of the angels - Chorus: Let all the Angels - John Wakefield- London Symphony Orchestra- Colin Davis- London Symphony Chorus
by: Heather Harper Helen Watts John Wakefield John Shirley-Quirk London Symphony Chorus London Symphony Orchestra Colin Davis

Release Date March 12, 2001
This version of Messiah played on modern instruments strikes me as being similar in feeling to a well tailored classical blazer. It is refined, contained, and very pleasant. It has a rather large sound and very good soloists. The choral singing has moments of great beauty and the large sound of the orchestra manages to create moments of subtle delicacy. The soloists reach moments of great operatic drama and beauty with deep feeling within the context of an overall restrained reading. It is not the best Messiah recording ( I think the best are the period instrument performances of Christie on Harmonia Mundi and Hogwood on l'Oiseau Lyre) but it is a very good interpretation on modern instruments with good to excellent soloists and many moments ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

.

Handel: Messiah

Search: Recitativo: Unto which of the angels - Chorus: Let all the Angels - John Wakefield- London Symphony Orchestra- Colin Davis- London Symphony Chorus
from: Duo

Release Date May 10, 1993
This is more like it. I bought the Harry Christopher/Sixteen version and was left unmoved by it. This however, was sublime - fantastic soloists, an orchestra and chorus that sounded as if they meant it, a wonderful range of emotion beautifully realised. To me this is what a performance of the Messiah should sound like. The other reviewers got this one spot-on. I can only 'rejoice greatly' for such a recording.